SEATTLE - Football can be a painful game, and sometimes it leaves marks on both body and soul.

That was the case Sunday for the Cardinals, whose performance in a 58-0 loss to the Seahawks won’t be easy to forget because there were a lot of “evers” involved.

It was the worst loss ever in franchise history. It was the most points ever scored by an opponent. It extended their losing streak to nine, the longest since 1944 when they combined with the Steelers franchise to go 0-10.

In 2012, they have no one to blame but themselves.

“Let me just start off by saying, I apologize to our fans, everybody associated with our organization,” coach Ken Whisenhunt said to open his postgame news conference. “That was embarrassing today. We owe it to them, our fans, our supporters, to give them a better product, a better job than what we did today.”

The Cardinals (4-9) committed six turnovers and Seattle scored 38 points. That was just the first half.

They had two more turnovers in the second half and showed little interest in the less-nuanced portions of the sport — blocking, tackling and such.

“Ass kicking, that’s the only thing you can say,” quarterback John Skelton said. “For them to come out and dominate the way they did in every phase of the game, it’s embarrassing.”

Sunday’s loss was unique in that the Cardinals broke down in every phase. The defense played like it was doing forced labor, and Patrick Peterson muffed a punt and fumbled on another.

It’s hard to believe that before the nine-game losing streak, the Cardinals had won 11 of their previous 13. But after the first month, this season went south faster than a fleeing felon, and the biggest question now is if Whisenhunt, who is under contract through 2013, will keep his job.

“There’s not anything I could do about that,” Whisenhunt said when asked if was concerned about his job. “We all know what this business is. I’ve been in it a long time as a player and a coach. I’m not worried about it.”

Team President Michael Bidwill has declined comment about the subject, and there are no indications the Cardinals are prepared to fire Whisenhunt before the end of the season, if at all.

This team has 1,000 problems, it seems, but none bigger than the lack of a productive quarterback. Kevin Kolb remains out with a rib injury, and John Skelton and Ryan Lindley have failed as replacements.

Skelton started at CenturyLink Field on Sunday and completed 11 of 22 with four interceptions. Lindley replaced him, and while the Seahawks didn’t catch any of his passes, neither did many Cardinals.

Who starts next week against Detroit?

“Do you play?” Whisenhunt asked a reporter. “Part of our struggles have been tied into the inconsistency at that position. You’ve got to have something there that can cover up some other areas, and we’re not getting that. It seems like we’re getting the other direction, sometimes.”

Oddly enough, the Cardinals moved the ball on the opening possession, with Skelton completing his first three passes for 35 yards. But his fourth attempt, which came on third-and-2, hit receiver Larry Fitzgerald’s hands. Linebacker K.J. Wright knocked the ball loose and it hit cornerback Walter Thurmond. It ended up in the hands of linebacker Bobby Wagner.

That play, Whisenhunt said, was an example of “how our season has gone the last nine weeks. The ball comes out, doesn’t hit the ground and they pick it up and move it down the field.”

The Seahawks (8-5) got a field goal out of it, and the rout was on, partly because the Cardinals defense didn’t do much after that.

That unit’s pride came after the fall. The Seahawks led 38-0 at halftime, and the defense didn’t show any interest in tackling the Seahawks to open the second half. Marshawn Lynch’s 33-yard touchdown made the score 45-0.

The Seahawks rushed for 284 yards, including 128 from Lynch and 108 from Robert Turbin, his backup. Seattle averaged nearly 7 yards a carry, and Lynch scored three times.

“Right now, we’re not very good, to be quite honest with you,” said safety Adrian Wilson, who said everyone in the organization, from the top down, needs to honestly evaluate themselves.

“The old cliché is look at yourself in the mirror and see what you’re doing wrong, see if you can be man enough to correct it,” he said.

“Right now, I don’t know if there are enough men looking at themselves in the mirror.”

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